Comunicar Europa/Communicating Europe: Spain, Television Co-productions and the Case of Pepe Carvalho

This article will look into the case of a European television co-production: Pepe Carvalho (1999), a Spanish-Italian-French series based on the adventures of private detective created by writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán. Taking account of production and reception issues, it will address the complexities of using media in the process of European construction. The main objective of this text is to observe the manner in which cinema and television are interwoven into the collection of actions that are working towards the idea of Europe as a community, looking into processes that give meaning to the collective transmission of European values. The article will focus specifically on the way in which critics and media scholars collaborate as spurs or brakes in the processes of ‘comunicar Europa’ / ‘communicating Europe’.